Rip Rense: Reporter

Did you grow up in the 1960s? In Southern California? Did you grow up anytime? Anywhere? Are you a teenager? Were you ever a teenager?

Self-doubting, pimply, gangly, perhaps? Is or was your family less than perfect? Do you like to laugh?

Then I recommend a poignant and delightful book: "The Oaks," by Rip Rense.

You can purchase it only off the author's Web sites, http://oaksnovel.com and http://riprense.com.

[Click for MORE]

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Artist of Famed Obama Poster Arrested in Boston

A street artist famous for his red, white and blue "Hope" posters of President Obama has been arrested on warrants accusing him of tagging property with graffiti, police said today.

The image is the subject of a copyright dispute with The Associated Press. [Shepard] Fairey argues his use of the AP photo is protected by "fair use," which allows exceptions to copyright laws based on, among other factors, how much of the original is used, what the new work is used for and how the original is affected by the new work. [Click for MORE] Sphere: Related Content

Signs Are That Zell Will Eventually Collapse L.A.'s Iconic Newspaper

By Sue Laris
Downtown News

The recent announcement that the Los Angeles Times is cutting 300 more jobs, 70 of them in the newsroom, was a shock, but it shouldn't have been. We should be experiencing grief, not surprise. Outrage is another apt emotion.

It is no longer advisable to turn away from the brutal carnage in plain view, no longer possible to believe there will be any tolerable outcome from the ongoing reconfiguring of the Times under the current ownership. The truth must be faced before it is too late. The bleeding is not going to cease. It is going to worsen. And that result is bad for all of us, even those who despise the Times. [Click for MORE]

> LA Times unionized pressroom employees get WARN layoff notice
> Deseret Management hires former LA Times publisher Willes Sphere: Related Content

Chicago Tribune Plans Job Cuts, Salary Freeze

The publisher of the financially struggling Chicago Tribune Media Group says the company plans to cut jobs, freeze wages and increase prices for home subscribers to help offset a decline in revenue. [Click for MORE] Sphere: Related Content

What If Newspapers Didn't Exist?

Now is the time for newspapers to do something proactive; time for them to demonstrate what life would be like without them.

It's time for every daily newspaper in the United States, in cooperation with the Associated Press, to shut down their free Web sites for one week.

Yes. Shut it down. Blank screen. Nothing. [Click for MORE]

• The petition is available online at this link.

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Journalism Students Uneasy About Job Prospects

Newspapers have been struggling for several years to reinvent themselves in the age of the Internet.

But now, hit with a recession, many newspapers and other media outlets are announcing additional cutbacks and layoffs.

At the University of Missouri at Columbia — one of the nation's top journalism schools — aspiring young reporters are feeling uneasy about job prospects upon graduation. [Click for MORE]

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How to Save Your Newspaper

• How to Save Your Newspaper
• It's now or never for America's dailies. A former TIME managing editor offers a way to return journalism to prosperity: charge for it, a nickel at a time
• The Race for A Better Read
• Good news for the old media: a new crop of e-readers could soon improve on the printed page. Here are some of the contender
• What's It Worth To Ya?
• News Corp. Posts $6.4 Billion Loss

> McClatchy reports $21.7M loss in 4th-qtr on newspapers' decline, plans deep cost cuts
> McClatchy freezes pensions, announces plans for cutbacks
> McClatchy’s Pruitt: Considering whether paid online content pays
> Conde Nast replaces New Yorker publisher
> News Corp. loses $6.4 billion in 2Q; huge write-down of assets blamed
> News Corp posts biggest quarterly loss on writedown
> Times seeks more cuts; group urges P-I purchase
> Wall Street Journal cuts 14 newsroom positions
> Hearst newspapers management shake-up in '100 days of change' initiative
> Maine's highest court questions publication of legal notices
> Sarasota Herald-Tribune announces layoffs, circ cut
> A.H. Belo gives bonuses to managers just as it announces layoffs
> Morning News Publisher Discusses the "Unfortunate Coincidence" of Belo Bonuses and Charging for Online Content
> Plans for a one-newspaper town
> Disappearing newspapers
> Even St. Pete Times announces pay freeze, suspends 401-K contributions
> Gannett stock hits all-time low
> How Do We Say Goodbye? Sphere: Related Content

Tribune Co. to Reduce Severance Payouts

Bankruptcy judge approves cutting benefit roughly in half

A bankruptcy judge in Delaware Tuesday approved reduced severance terms for Tribune Co. employees who lose their jobs as the Chicago-based media conglomerate restructures to cope with shrinking ad revenue.

The policy essentially halves the payout to workers who are fired without cause. They will receive two weeks' pay for their first year of service and an additional week's pay for every subsequent year. Employees who left in 2008 received a week's pay for every six months on the job.

Tribune Co.'s largest paper, the Los Angeles Times, last week said it would eliminate 300 more jobs, and the company hasn't ruled out new cuts at other media holdings, including the Chicago Tribune.

Chandler Bigelow III, Tribune Co.'s senior vice president and chief financial officer, said in a Jan. 13 court filing that "it is prudent to consider further workforce reductions if current economic conditions persist."

Companies reorganizing typically seek court approval for major changes to compensation, including severance and incentives for executives.

-- Chicago Tribune

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